After Impressionism

By the 1880s, some painters felt Impressionism had become too focused on surface appearance and fleeting effects. Post-Impressionism (c. 1886-1905) was never a unified movement. It was four artists, working independently, each solving the same problem: what comes after Impressionism?

These four artists — Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Seurat — rejected both academic tradition and Impressionism's love of surface effects. Each chased a radically different goal, but all shared one conviction: painting needed a deeper structure underneath the color.